


Butcher of beasts

by Nalyd



Category: Monster Hunter (Video Games)
Genre: Demon, Gen, Hunting Party, My First Work in This Fandom, Rathalos - Freeform, dragon - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:21:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22886977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nalyd/pseuds/Nalyd
Summary: Akuryo is a retired hunter who keeps an eye out for exceptionally skilled or relentless up-and-coming hunters. One day a group she's keeping tabs on finds itself battling a Rathalos and she jumps into action, ready to assess their capabilities. But how will the four men react to the old woman's intentions?
Kudos: 9





	Butcher of beasts

Four hunters battled a Rathalos in the middle of a clearing atop a rocky hill. The beast fought with all its magnitude: its fangs, fiery breath, and poisonous talons made it an unstoppable killing machine. Its glistening red scales blurred as it dashed in and out of the battlefield, raising puffs of smoke and debris and delivering every blow with lethal strength.

But the hunters were unfazed and prepared. In the rare instances when the rathalos’s attacks found their target, their powerful armor and quick medications allowed them to shrug off the hit and continue battering the monster with their weapons. Two of them had already drawn blood.

Akuryo bit the inside of her lip as she observed the fight through her binoculars, crouching behind a large rock. The monster would soon realize this wasn't a winnable fight.

She shifted her weight from one leg to the other.  _ What's taking him so long? _ she wondered. She'd gotten more restless with age, despite being often reassured the opposite would happen.

“What’s it looking like?” someone asked, nearly startling her.

Hiding her surprise, she lowered the binoculars and turned to greet the familiar voice. “Shinya, my old friend!” she chimed with an exaggerated smile. “Late as always, I see.”

The felyne was taller than most, dressed in dark purple garbs that made his amber fur seem resplendent. He had an ugly scar across his forehead, a small, sheathed dagger on his belt, and an attitude that explained both of them.

“Be happy I'm here,” he grumbled. “ _ I  _ have an employer. They work me silly. And they watch me.”

Akuryo smiled apologetically. “I know, I know, I'm just poking fun. You’re right on time.” She was indeed happy her partner was in a privileged position at the Hunter’s Guild, and she understood how sneaking away for unofficial business could be difficult. “Where are your henchmen?”

Shinya nodded to the path behind them that wound down towards a small lake. “Two minutes that way. They're on the ready.” He glanced at her binoculars. “May I see them?”

Akuryo obliged, and the felyne surveyed the battle.

“Looks like the information you gave me was correct,” she said.

He grunted. “When is it not?”

“You're a real charm today, Shi.”

The felyne ignored her. He didn't like that nickname. She knew that. He knew that she knew that. She knew that also. There was a lot of knowledge going around in those few seconds.

“Anyways… these guys seem fairly experienced when it comes to rathalos hunting,” she offered, trying to break the awkward silence.

“Because of the armor?”

“They  _ are  _ all wearing parts of rathalos armor, yes, but you can see they're quite accustomed to its movements. You can't predict attack patterns that well unless you've fought the species several times.”

“I trust your experience,” he said, giving back the binoculars. He looked her over as she stuffed them into her bag. “Can you do it?” he asked. He sounded almost concerned.

Akuryo grinned.

“That's what I thought,” he said with a fanged smile.

The rathalos roared and they turned to see it limp away from the hunters.

“Looks like it's go time,” Akuryo said, standing up.

“Remember why I’m here,” the felyne called after her as she jogged away. “Last time was sloppy!”

“Sorry boss, can't hear ya!” she yelled back with a smile as the rathalos took off.

///

Ken breathed heavily as the beast flew further and further away. When it disappeared near the mountaintop, he drew another long breath and sheathed his greatsword, Sieglinde.

“Alright, everyone!” he shouted, turning around to face his companions. “It believes we can't reach it in its nesting place, but we're about to prove it wrong. Let’s take a moment to heal up and make sure everything's in order, then it's time to finish this hunt! Hah!” his closed fist went up, immediately followed by three more.

As the hunters went through their wounds, Ken couldn't help but feel proud of the group’s progress. Daichi, Kaori, Noboru and himself had only been hunting together for a few months but they'd already made huge steps forward, from hunting nuisances such as arzuros and qurupecos to mighty beasts like rathians and gobuls. The four of them were all one rathalos and some blacksmithing away from a full armor. Ken couldn’t wait to see the envy on other hunters’ faces when they'd walk into the guild in such attire. Not to mention the prestigious quests they'd gain access to. And with those-

“We’ve got company,” Noboru muttered, sharpening his lance.

Ken lifted his gaze from his bandaged wrist and saw a slim figure jogging towards them, moving along the narrow path that led back to the base camp.

As the person got closer, he realized it was a skinny older woman. She was dressed in simple maroon clothing, with a bug catcher’s net strapped to her side. She had long white hair in a braid and pale skin.

“Hello there, fellow hunters,” she called out as she approached.

Daichi grunted, strapping his massive hunting horn onto his back.

Ken stepped forward. “Greetings, madam. You should be careful, it can be very dangerous out here.”

“Well, don’t you worry young man, I’m something of a hunter myself,” she replied, pointing towards her back with her thumb. Two short black pommels protruded from behind her shoulders.

_ A dual blade hunter, eh? Or ex-hunter, by the looks of it,  _ he thought.

“I heard some commotion,” the woman continued, “so I came over here to check it out, just in case you lads needed some help.”

Noboru waved her concerns away: “Thank you, madam, but we’re quite accustomed to dealing with Rathalos.”

“Ohh, a rathalos, eh? Haven’t seen one of those in a while, they’re getting pretty rare these days.”

“Yes,” Ken interjected, “which is why we pounced on the quest the moment it was posted. We’d been waiting for another one to be spotted for quite some time, and-”

“That’s really too bad,” she shook her head. “If it keeps going like this, one day there will be no more rathalos.”

Ken lifted his eyebrow. “I fail to see how that’s a bad thing.”

The old lady chuckled. “When there are no more to hunt, what will you do?”

“We will hunt something else.”

“Of course. But the balance between man and monster has shifted, surely you have noticed. Back in the olden days, man lived in fear of monsters. Hunters came to be to give humanity a fighting chance, driving off beasts when they threatened our settlements. But we do not kill to defend ourselves anymore, we do it for glory, for money… for armor parts,” she added, eyeing the group’s equipment. “Are we really hunters anymore, or are we mere butchers?”

“I understand your point, miss,” Kaori interjected, securing his bow, “but if we don’t take these hunting missions, someone else will. This is the way things work, nowadays. Besides, even though some monsters may be hunted down to very few numbers, humanity is nowhere close to defeating them. Have you heard of that new mysterious one?” 

Noboru nodded. “They call it the shadow demon. No one’s seen it and lived to tell the tale yet, but hunters have been found dead, shredded to pieces, and missing most of their stuff. This creature apparently devours metal, I can’t even begin to imagine the fury of its claws and fangs…” he ended, almost in a whisper.

“Bah. You hear a lot of tall tales in this business,” Ken replied, “I’ve yet to see one be true.”

“You never know,” Noboru answered, standing up, “most fake stories have some form of truth, somewhere deep within them.”

The woman nodded. “Indeed, best be careful. If I were you, I’d think twice about going after that rathalos. You’d be getting into dangerous territory. You’ve wounded it enough, it won’t be coming back here anytime soon. Your quest was to get rid of it, right? Mission accomplished, you can return and collect your rewards.”

The hunters looked at Ken, the informal leader of the group. He laughed at the idea of giving up now, so close to their goal. 

“Sorry, but I think I know what we’re about,” he said, regaining his composure, “that dragon is our quest, and we’re going to finish it. We’ve faced greater odds before and always emerged victorious.” His teammates nodded, ready to proceed.

The old hunter shrugged. “Can’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Worry about yourself, madam, we will be fine. Let’s go!” he commanded, turning to leave.

Kaori and Daichi followed him. Noboru gave the woman a short bow, then did the same.

_ Clunk. Clunk. Clunk.  _ He marched on the hard earth, crunching the ground with every step. His eyes were focused on the spot where the rathalos disappeared, but his mind was still considering the woman.  _ Be careful, eh? Give it up? More like give  _ me _ a break, lady. Hah!  _ He thought.

_ Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. Shhwing.  _ The muffled sound of metal against metal stopped him in his tracks.

“Noboru?” he asked, looking back. “Why are you taking out-”

The old woman stood still, in the same spot they’d left her. Her hands gripped the pommels of her crimson, feathered dual blades, now drawn. Her head was lowered and her white hair fell freely around it, partially concealing her face. A red aura permeated her body, emanating a heat so great that Ken’s skin prickled, even at that distance.

“Hey!” he yelled, pointing at her. His teammates turned around, confused.

Her head snapped back up, revealing a toothy grin and red, glowing eyes. The intensity of her gaze locked Ken in place for a moment.

She dashed toward them with breakneck speed.

The hunters frantically reached for their weapons, but she was too fast for them.

_ Slash. _

_ Slash. _

_ Slash. _

_ Slash. _

The sound of bodies crumpling to the ground was music to her ears.

The demon killed once more.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a quick little story I started writing a few years ago when I was playing Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate on my 3ds. I eventually got busy doing other things, so I left it incomplete. Recently I bought Monster Hunter: World for my pc, and I found myself immersed in this world again. With renewed motivation, I set about quickly finishing the story, the way I had intended to, years prior.  
> I wanted to pay homage to the series while at the same time adding some thoughts of my own to it. As I played the game I eventually realized that, from a lore perspective, my hunter was going out of their way to track and kill multiple monsters of the same species just to obtain crafting materials. This was especially true the further I got and the more my character got stronger items. I thought it would be interesting to have a hunter realize that the roles of hunted and hunters have been fully reversed from when hunters were originally created, and even grow concerned about the long-term survivability of species of monsters (there's an allegory for our world, in which animal and plant species extinction rate is about 1000 times higher than the natural rate, in there somewhere).  
> Akuryo is inspired by my first character, who wielded dual blades. If you know some japanese you might've guessed at the story's twist, since her name signifies "demon, evil spirit". All the other names are proper Japanese given names without much significance behind them (for this story), except for Shinya who is simply "Shi = Four" plus "Nya" which is the onomatopoeia for "Meow". Funny thing about Shinya, all of his sentences are composed of four words. Had you noticed that? Also speaking of Shinya, in case it wasn't clear from the story: he provides Akuryo with money and other goods in exchange for the armor and items of the hunters she kills. Yes she is motivated by a good cause, but she's gotta make money someway, you know?  
> Anyways thank you for reading and I apologize for the very extensive notes, if you have any feedback or questions do let me know, have a wonderful day!


End file.
